looking for cartoon representations of Modern Art

February 25, 2022 6:48 AM

Especially in the 40s through the 60s, newspaper and magazine comic strips and animated cartoons would have parodies of Modern or Avant-Garde art. A lot of these parodies are pretty awesome art in themselves! Please point me to your favorite examples, and if there's already a tumblr or instagram (etc.) collecting these, I want to see it.

Question inspired by #12 in this collection of 1950s magazine comics.

posted by moonmilk to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

This first cartoon by Argentine cartoonist Quino is a favorite of mine.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:26 AM on February 25, 2022 [15 favorites]

It's older (1913), but the The Cubies’ ABC was a parody children's book that mocked the exhibition that took place in the Armory in New York and introduced numerous avant-garde painters (from Van Gogh to Picasso) to the American public (via Mefi).
posted by elgilito at 7:29 AM on February 25, 2022 [8 favorites]

My memory might be playing tricks, but I think Charles Addams did a bunch of these. Here’s the first one that leapt to mind.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:20 AM on February 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

This is a fun question! Apologies for the slide show link, in this collection of New Yorker Cartoons from 1955-1965 there are 3 about modern art: Slides 1, 3 and 19. 19 by Otto Soglow is an especial favorite.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:45 AM on February 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

I always thought the art joke of Jackson Pollock's Mother was pretty amusing.
posted by nantucket at 8:53 AM on February 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

A lot of Glen Baxter's cartoons rest on discussions of modern art.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:58 AM on February 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

I cannot recommend Craig Yoe’s Arf series enough - deep, delicious, detailed, and irreverently reverent collections of cartoons and illustration on various topics. Modern Arf is one of the best!
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 9:56 AM on February 25, 2022

Ad Reinhardt had a cartoon series in PM magazine staring in 1946, called How to Look.
posted by yarrow at 10:10 AM on February 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

While I'm unaware of how to link to specific Nancystrips from the Ernie Bushmiller era (the original and greatest era), "modern art" was one of Bushmiller's most favorite targets. The header illustration on this Pinterest page neatly sums up EB's attitude toward modern art.

The incredibly great book How to Read Nancy has, as I recall, a whole section on Bushmiller's take on modern art.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:49 AM on February 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

Norman Rockwell's The Conoisseur comes to mind.

MAD used to love poking at modern art, e.g. here.
posted by zompist at 12:39 PM on February 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Calvin's snowman art here and here

There is a New Yorker book of art cartoons with that exact title.
posted by zymoglyphic at 8:57 PM on February 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you're interested in less of a parody, more of a serious look at modernist styling, but still in comics, try this MeFi post about Amid Amidi's Cartoon Modern, which explores, in depth, the influence of modernism in the art of the comics themselves in this period. It may not be what you're looking for, but it may be another look at your question from a different angle.
posted by eclectist at 7:10 AM on February 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Norman Rockwell's The Conoisseur comes to mind.

As does an appropriate homage thereof.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:06 AM on February 26, 2022